as i left Burkhart Trail and began to walk through Rattlesnake Trail i noticed it was poorly maintained and very lightly used, overgrown in some parts. good, i thought, less people. it was a really pretty hike, following the creek for a while, then scaling alongside a ridge as the creek down below got farther and farther. i saw the Sun crawling back down behind some peaks so I turned back, having done a good deal of reading and some writing. at one point I lost sight of the trail and started going through ways that led nowhere. i knew i wasn’t too far away from the trail but i couldn’t find it. i walked up a ridge, knowing the general direction i had to go towards, but the hills became steep and then a slight bit of anxiety began to creep up, as i took stock of what i had in my pack just in case. some trail mix, a banana, water. a lighter, notebook paper. a light, an emergency blanket, a towel. i walked along the side of a steep hill when i heard, it, her song, the sound of a rattle unmistakably hers. Rattlesnake. she sang her song, beautifully, but warning me not to get any closer. in her song, she told me i was intruding, that it was her territory, from time immemorial. unceded territory. i told her i was trying to find my way back, and her song very clearly told me that whatever way that was, it wasn’t through there. i turned back the other way while i watched her, and the ground beneath her, composed of very fine rock, almost sand, started to move as she did a dance, and she slid of the side of the little steep patch she was on, singing and dancing as she moved. she had directed me in the right direction, and as i walked down the side of the steep hill i caught a glimpse of the trail beneath me, a very subtle pathway. the only way i could get to it was to do the dance that Rattlesnake had showed me. fall, i thought. déjate caer. so i got on my ass and wiggled myself down, sliding down the hill, and as i slid down, the little rocks and sand that i took with me mimicked the song of the Rattlesnake, in a crude and vulgar way. i stopped sliding on the trail, stood up, and went the right way. at this point the Sun was hidden even more and the darkness overtook the scenery. i brought out my light, and a few minutes later, as i looked toward the creek which was pretty close to the trail now, i saw, i felt, two eyes staring at me. it was something big, but as i stopped to shine my light towards them, they stood still. unmoving. they just stared, in a light blue reflection that my light shone on them. i announced myself, and as it heard my voice, it became pretty clear, with its loud thumping as it ran and jumped into the creek, that it was Bear. it made lots of noise as it ran and then climbed a tree. i tried looking for it with my light, but the trees were dense and it stopped moving. i kept walking and made my way towards my car.
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this is 1997 